Difficulty

Swiper Cupcakes

Try this recipe at your child's next party. Double the ingredients or divide them in half, depending on the size of your celebration.

This recipe contains one or more of the following common food allergens: dairy, nuts, soy, wheat, or eggs.

This recipe is best suited for parents to make on their own or with minimal help from kids.

Servings: 12

Prep Time: 70 min.

Ingredients

12 baked and cooled cupcakes (in orange paper liners)

2 cans (16 oz. each) vanilla frosting

Orange, blue, yellow, black, and red food coloring

Resealable plastic bags

12 large white or yellow gum drops

12 white or yellow spice drops

12 marshmallows

6 black jellybeans

12 mini blue candy-coated chocolates (mini M&M's®)

Pastry bag with ribbon tip

24 white chewy mints (Mentos®)

Black licorice laces

Tip: Check your market for a package of plastic frosting bags. To fill one, fold the top half down, holding the bottom with one hand. With the other hand, and using a large spoon, scoop frosting into it. Unfold the bag. To use the bag, hold at the top and push down using a twisting motion.

Directions

Step 1

Tint 1 1/2 cups of the vanilla frosting orange and spoon into a 2-cup measuring cup; set aside. Tint 1/2 cup of the vanilla frosting yellow and 1/2 cup blue. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the yellow frosting into a resealable bag and spoon the remaining yellow frosting into a small cup. Spoon the blue frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a ribbon tip. Tint 2 tablespoons of vanilla frosting black and another 2 tablespoons of vanilla frosting pink. (Add just a drop of red food coloring to the vanilla frosting to make the frosting pink.) Spoon each color into a resealable bag. Spoon the remaining vanilla frosting into a resealable bag; set aside.

Step 2

To make Swiper's muzzle, trim a small piece from the rounded end of each of the large gum drops and attach the spice drops to the cut end, flat side down. To make Swiper's ears, cut two triangles--about 3/4-inch tall--from each marshmallow.

Step 3

Cover the tops of the cupcakes with a thin layer of orange frosting. Press the gum drop and spice drop to one side of the cupcake for his muzzle and press the two marshmallow triangles along the top edge for his ears. Do this for each cupcake. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.

Step 4

Heat the remaining orange frosting in the microwave for about 20 to 30 seconds, stirring frequently until the texture resembles slightly whipped cream. Do not overheat! Dip the top of each cupcake into the orange frosting to cover them completely. Allow excess frosting to drip back into the measuring cup. Invert each cupcake and place on a cookie sheet to set. If the frosting becomes too thick as it cools, reheat for several seconds in the microwave.

Step 5

Heat the yellow frosting in the cup in the microwave, stirring frequently, until it is the texture of slightly whipped cream, about 5 seconds. Do not overheat! Dip each cupcake so just Swiper's muzzle gets covered in the yellow frosting. Allow excess frosting to drip back into the cup. Invert the cupcakes and place them on a cookie sheet to set again. If the frosting becomes too thick as it cools, reheat for several seconds in the microwave. Cut the black jelly beans in half crosswise and place each half, cut-side down, on the tip of the muzzles to make Swiper's nose.

Step 6

Use the pastry bag to pipe Swiper's blue mask on the upper half of the cupcakes, making it as smooth as possible. Pipe two lines of frosting for the knot and add the blue candy in the center of the knot. Snip a small corner from the bags of pink and yellow frosting. Pipe small pink triangles inside the ears with the pink frosting. Add the mint candies as the eyes. Pipe yellow eyebrows with the yellow frosting. Snip a very small corner from the bag with the black frosting and pipe the pupils on top of the mint candies.

Step 7

Cut the licorice laces into thin 1/2-inch-long pieces to make whiskers. Press three of the pieces on each side of Swiper's muzzle. Snip a small corner from the vanilla frosting bag and pipe Swiper's mouth and teeth. Follow these steps for each cupcake and refrigerate them until ready to serve.

Tip: Kids will enjoy counting out the candies and marshmallows for these cupcakes.